Visiting my grandparents on their farm in Oklahoma was always a treat for this city girl. As much as I loved riding horses, playing with the dog and spending cherished time collecting eggs from the henhouse with Papa, my level of anxiety would begin to...
If someone told me as a high school freshman that there was a place where I could work with an upperclassman on some chemistry concepts I was struggling with, I would have treated it just like my private piano lessons and conveniently been absent when...
In 2009, a small Tennessee university started an extracurricular fishing program for their student body. They were the first to offer scholarships for students excelling in the sport. Since then, the number of colleges and universities offering fishing clubs has grown from 125 to more...
BY JILL JOSEPH ROZA Celina High School journalism and audio/visual (AV) instructor Mr. Kent Smith is only in his first year with the district. But his impact during this short time has been staggering, as demonstrated by the “nineteen and counting” student awards gracing the wall...
BY JILL JOSEPH ROZA As an administrator and former teacher, I have always enjoyed seeing students walking down the hallways on that first day of school, clutching their new notebooks and supplies, ready to take on the world. This was just a taste of what I...
Recently, some of my former high school classmates got together to reminisce. The stories didn’t stop with fond memories of this teacher or that principal—we also remembered our favorite cafeteria lady who always slipped you extra fries, making you the most popular kid at the...
BY JILL JOSEPH ROZA Fifteen years ago, we left “Urban America” and its metropolitan conveniences behind and moved our family to Celina, Texas. Rural living slapped us in the face as we had to start traveling the highways; groceries and school supplies that were once just...